Is the Perfect Really the Enemy of the Good?

“America, after all,” President Obama continued, “has always been a grand experiment in compromise.” Really? Wasn’t it Patrick Henry who said, “Give me liberty or give me death?” Wasn’t it the framers who made an all-out declaration of freedom, pledging their lives and their fortunes?

“As a democracy made up of every race and religion, where every belief and point of view is welcomed, we have put to the test time and again the proposition at the heart of our founding: that out of many, we are one.” President Obama is as confused as John McCain. Living together peacefully is not the same as giving up deeply held beliefs in a grand compromise.

“We have engaged in fierce and passionate debates about the issues of the day, but from slavery to war, from civil liberties to questions of economic justice, we have tried to live by (compromise.) Did hundreds of thousands of American soldiers give up their lives during the Civil War so there would be a compromise on slavery? The “good” rather than the “perfect?” Did thousands more lay down their lives to fight Nazi Germany so that Neville Chamberlain could make his appeasement? Did hundreds of black Americans walk through dogs and hoses to gain a little bit of freedom?

America was NOT built on compromise. People from every race and creed came together around an immutable set of principles laid down by the Founding Fathers. The Founders were adamant and passionate about what they believed. So were ensuing generations. It’s only our current generation, indulged, poorly educated, and indoctrinated by the Left that knows not what they believe.

“History is scattered with the stories of those who held fast to rigid ideologies and refused to listen to those who disagreed.” Abraham Lincoln? William Wilberforce? Those great compromisers? “But those are not the Americans we remember.” What great compromisers do we remember??? John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis? Ronal Reagan at Reykjavik? I can’t remember a single one.

“We remember the Americans who put country above self, and set personal grievances aside for the greater good.” Is it a personal grievance to want to stop government from bankrupting the country? “We remember the Americans… who put aside pride and party to form a more per¬fect union.” Really? If it is pride or party to try to prevent national bankruptcy, we need more of both.

No doubt trying to achieve perfection can be an impediment in many areas, but perfection is not synonymous with doing what is right. Perfection is about us; difficult choices are always about others.

Hats off to the Congressional Hobbits! And when they retreat to Middle Earth, let’s hope they take America with them!